Hell and Back
by DrunkOnJerichohol
Summary: She was an enigma, a teaser to a much bigger puzzle Roman was left to unscramble when he stumbled across her by chance. She seldom strayed from Roman's thoughts but began evading him after demands for answers, leaving him sullen, despondent, and without hope. The friendships of Seth and Dean had always carried him through in the past, but this time, their support may not suffice.
1. A Vision in Emerald

**Disclaimer**: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Any and all original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Saturday seemed just an ordinary day.

The more accurate word would have been _extraordinary_.

Roman was a working man, flitting from one arena to the next and traveling roads unknown, but on the odd day off from the confines of the squared circle, he milked his free time for all it was worth. Walking cleared his mind, removing him from the restraints the wrestling business often held him hostage in, and he left his house that morning with a pep in his step, not a care in the world. Healthy leaves rustled from high above in the trees and the ones that had fallen to their bitter demise scuttled across the pavement below, prompting Roman to absently kick them out of his path as he strolled along. When he reached the end of his block, a quiet community lined with two-story, conservative homes, he strayed from the clear path and set out for a grassy, open field.

The outside wrestling world would assume he did nothing except pal around with his fellow Shield members while away from the ring, but the truth of the matter was quite to the contrary. When he, Dean, and Seth came upon an opportunity to spend time away from the company, they all enjoyed it in their own hometowns, wanting to leave their stable behind for a while and reconnect with the roots they had left behind in their quest for superstardom. Being home allowed them to recapture the best, truest form of themselves so they could return to work healthy and with a clear head on their shoulders. Slipping his hands into his right side pants pocket, Roman's fingers bumped the upper edge of his cell phone, which, surprisingly, wasn't ringing off the hook as it normally did.

His friends' instincts had served him well, as they probably realized he craved a break from talking business and character development in regards to their roles on television, and they likely wanted the same for themselves. That wasn't to say he didn't miss talking to them, but technology was a service he only planned to use over the course of the weekend if he was in dire straits, and now was not one of those occasions. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the sky was a sea of pure blue, and his mind was free of all clutter. As was oft said, all good things must come to an end, and Roman should have known better. He should have sensed that a day so beautiful and free of chaos must have only served as a representation of the calm before the storm.

That was when his eyes first settled upon her.

Her emerald dress clung to her curves so well he would have thought the garment were painted on, had it not been for the lower fringes of the dress fluttering in the breeze. She was just a woman, standing alone in one spot, but Roman was too intrigued to look anywhere besides her. He knew his neighbors quite well, and the people in his neighborhood whom he didn't know usually found a way to run into him during his walks around the neighborhood, all of them wanting to meet Roman Reigns, the great WWE superstar. Their attention was flattering, although it sometimes went unwanted, but he always made it a point to be generous no matter who approached him. The mystery girl standing yards away was enough to make him consider introducing himself to her, instead of the other way around.

She remained motionless at the edge of the railroad tracks, staring into the halcyon sky above as a flock of birds swooped around in wide circles overhead. Perhaps it was her designated thinking spot, the place she came when the world grew a little too difficult and disheartening to stand. Roman averted his eyes, feeling as if he might be intruding on what was meant to be a private moment. Regardless of her presence in a public setting, she had gone out of her way to avoid passers-by, and he wanted to respect that, relating to the need for solitary peace. Roman was already in the process of turning around and leaving when he registered the vague ringing of a train's bell, accompanied by the faint blare of its horn.

Soon enough, the red-and-white-striped barriers would be lowering into place and her safe spot would be on temporary hiatus, falling victim to a passing train. Roman didn't want her to turn around and find him standing there, staring at her as he hovered nearby, because she would probably assume he had bad intentions. He would never live the humiliation of that down, so he spun around and started back the way he came, his mindset shifting to what he would do to unwind once he returned home. Living in Florida, there were plenty of options for mellowing out and having a good time on the weekends, with no shortage of hot spots to settle on. All that was left for him to do was choose a local party destination.

It wasn't until he left the field behind and returned to the pavement he had started on that the train horn boomed louder, and his instinctual urges told him to glance back and see where the woman had gone. If she wasn't far behind, he thought he might strike up a conversation, but when he turned back, she remained at the side of the tracks, precisely where she had been before. Roman came to an abrupt stop, squinting hard as he struggled to determine if he was actually witnessing what he _thought_ he was witnessing. From where he stood, it looked as if the woman had not only failed to vacate the area near the tracks, but she had gone so far as to stand directly on them. As the train roared closer, his internal warning signals were abuzz, alerting him that something was terribly wrong.

He couldn't very well leave, at least, not in good conscience, so he looked both ways down the street before crossing back to the field and breaking into a light jog. The grass squished under the weight of his sneakers and each of his footsteps was accompanied by a choppy thud as he raced to avert what might become a crisis if he didn't reach her in time. He sped to a full-blown sprint as time slipped away, his speed matching the thumping of his own racing heart, rattling against his chest as the train closed in. It was difficult to tell whether the woman was suicidal or simply playing a dangerous game for the thrill of it, but Roman didn't like what he saw one bit.

He cupped his hands over his mouth, not slowing for even a second as he called out to her. "Hey! Get off the tracks!"

His attempt, thoughtful as it was, fell on deaf ears as the woman held her arms straight out at her sides, sending a silent challenge to the train to come and get her. There was a distinct moment when Roman felt he had left his own body and was no longer a part of the situation, instead watching as an innocent bystander while the terrifying scene played out like a movie. His body ran on pure adrenaline, kicking itself into high gear when he checked on the whereabouts of the train and found it bearing down on the girl, a mere matter of yards away. His lungs burned and his legs ached for a break, but he pushed through the pain, reaching out and latching onto the woman's arm. He yanked her off of the tracks and fell to the ground in an exhausted heap with her on top.

No sooner had they collapsed to the earth below than the train's shadow fell over them as it chugged past, each car's wheels creaking along the path of the tracks. The woman was first to rise to her feet, and Roman pushed himself up with his palms right after, brushing the dirt and grass blades off of his pants while he waited for the train to pass the remainder of the way. He couldn't even hear himself think over the noise of the engine, but the second it was gone, every emotion that had rushed through him in the wake of such panic came out in his haggard tone. "What's the matter with you, huh?" he shouted. "What the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed, or, even worse, gotten _both_ of us killed!"

Even in his raging anger, Roman couldn't deny the girl's beauty. Her face was pale but paired with rosy pink cheeks, a favorable combination that gave her a classic look. Her hair was jet black and a stark contrast to her coloring, dark like a raven's feather, and her locks fell about halfway down her back, wound into loose curls at the ends. Her eyes reflected the color of her dress, a few shades darker than the grass on which they stood, and her lips formed a soft pout. Aside from that, her expression was impassive, anything but the look he would have expected to find on the face of someone who had nearly been smashed flat like a pancake by a rushing train. Something was off, and it had become Roman's mission to find out what.

"I just saved your life. The least you could do is answer me!" he demanded, leaning his face in toward hers. The intimidation factor was the breaking point for her, and her brows knitted together as she took several clumsy steps backward, trying in vain to create distance between them. Sometimes Roman forgot how threatening his large frame could be to people who didn't know him, and especially to people of the opposite sex, so he took a shaky, deep breath in and let it out. When he next spoke, his voice had dropped several octaves. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to yell, but, shit, do you need an ambulance or anything?" he asked, eyes flashing when he realized she could have been injured during their fall to the ground.

"No, I'm fine," she said, rubbing up and down her arms with the palms of her hands, trying in vain to warm herself. Roman would have gladly offered her the jacket right off his back, but he hadn't brought one along. An awkward silence settled over them, Roman looking from the tracks to her, as she looked everywhere except at him.

"What were you doing on the tracks in the first place?"

"I...I like to come out here and think," she shrugged.

"That much is reasonable, but not when a train is coming right at you. Were you trying to..." he struggled to get the words out, nearly losing his composure in the process. "Were you trying to hurt yourself?"

"_What_?" her eyes grew wide, and she stumbled back another few steps. "No! I'd never do something like that. I love life too much."

"That's all well and good, but you have to see this from my point of view," Roman said. He stepped forward to compensate for the extra space between them, but each time he moved toward her, she retreated. "It's okay, you don't have to be scared of me. I'm sorry for yelling earlier. I shouldn't have done it, but I was just scared and didn't know what to think. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."

"All right," she fiddled with the ties on her dress and stared at the ground. "I guess I can talk."

"Can I take a few steps toward you?" Roman asked. He added, "I don't bite, I promise."

"Yes," she nodded. Roman closed the gap and, though there was a fidgety air to her mannerisms, she didn't back away, which was a good sign. If Roman could get her to trust him, he could get her to talk, and the more he found out about her current state of mind, the more capable he would be to offer his help. He could call her family or get her to the hospital, depending on which seemed the more feasible option.

"Thank you for not backing up. I'm not such a scary guy, you'll see," he said. "Are you from around here?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"My name's Roman. What's yours?"

"Eleanor, but everyone I know calls me Ellie," she replied, making eye contact with him for the first time since he had pulled her to safety. "I was named after my grandma on my mom's side."

"That's a very pretty name, Ellie."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Roman shoved his hand into his pocket and produced his cell phone, intending to call someone who could remedy the situation, but Ellie gasped at the sight. When he glanced up, she had a hand over her mouth.

"Please don't call the police on me," she said. "I don't like police officers. They bring up too many bad memories," she shuddered. Her fingers wrapped even more tightly around her arms, gripped so soundly that her digits were draining of color. "I just want to go home."

"I can walk you there."

"I should really go on my own, but thank you for the offer."

She managed a smile, forcing every inch of it onto her face, and then turned and began trekking away from him. Roman was almost fully prepared to let her go on with her day, but he couldn't leave the scene without notifying _somebody_ about what he saw. If Ellie was in trouble and needed help, it was his responsibility to guide her in the right direction, and his muscles stiffened until he could no longer take the pain. He had to go after her, and so he did, calling her name as he jogged so she wouldn't be alarmed when he came up behind her. She stopped, waiting for him to catch up.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"It's just that I'm thinking maybe I should report this to someone. Are you having problems at home or something? I can get you the help you need if something is bothering you," Roman offered, chest puffing in and out with each of his breaths. "It feels wrong to just let you walk away like this all by yourself."

"It's no big deal. I really was just trying to take advantage of such a beautiful day. Look at the sky, watch the birds, soak in the silence, that kind of thing."

"But the train started coming and you purposely stood on the tracks, I saw it. You held your arms out and waited for it to come," Roman said, demonstrating the pose he had found her in. "You were _trying_ to get hit, weren't you?"

"I was going to move before you tackled me like a linebacker," she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as her pupils caught a glint of light cast off the sun. Ellie's gaze met his and he was hypnotized, caught in a trance. This time, she smiled a real smile, as if she was used to that type of positive attention from guys, and Roman wasn't surprised a single bit by her reaction. Pretty girls typically knew the advantages of their wiles. "Stop staring. Didn't your mother ever tell you how rude that is?"

"Well, excuse me," Roman answered, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "It's not every day that I see a pretty girl almost hit by a train."

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm really fine."

"How old are you?" he asked, almost out of the blue. Ellie's eyes twinkled as she played along.

"How old are _you_?"

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

"All right, fine, I'll bite," he grinned. "I turned 28 this past May. Your turn."

"I'm 21."

"That's a fun age."

"It could be, I guess," she bit her bottom lip, a deep solemnity settling in her eyes like clouds in the sky on an overcast day. She stared into space for a moment, perhaps mulling over the cruelty of a life that hadn't given her all she had hoped for. Her expression tugged on Roman's heartstrings, and it was uncommon if not unheard of for him to invite perfect strangers into his home, but Ellie was quite clearly stuck in a state of distress that wouldn't be solved by returning home. For all he knew, there would be no one there waiting for her, and the worst thing she could do was be alone during hard times, so, against his better judgment, he extended a kind offer; one she couldn't easily refuse.

"Hey, why don't you walk back to my place with me? It's right in this neighborhood over here," he said, pointing over her shoulder. "We can have some coffee and talk if you want to. It might make you feel better."

"Thanks, but I should be getting home."

"Will someone else be there? You should at least have someone to talk to."

"Uh...yeah, someone's there," she said, hesitating in a way that let him know she was lying through her impeccable teeth. Still, he couldn't very well hold the girl under duress, so he saw no choice but to let her continue on her way. The slight hero complex he suffered from screamed at him from inside, pushing him to do more, but, instead, he backed off. Ellie had been through enough drama for the day. "Thanks for helping, but I really would have been okay," she assured him, wearing an easy smile. "I was going to move, I swear."

"I know. I believe you," he replied.

She shook her head, chuckling softly while she tucked some hair behind her ear. "Sure you do."

Ellie strolled through the grass, arms swinging casually at her sides as she traveled in the direction of her home. Roman watched her go for a short while, turning back to look at the tracks where the close call had occurred. He couldn't shake the feeling that Ellie had been in some sort of trouble, but there was always a chance she was being up front and had planned all along to jump out of the way at the very last possible second. Maybe she was the type of person who valued cheap thrills to keep herself occupied, but Ellie had left him with an unsettling heaviness in the pit of his stomach. Roman shifted away from the tracks, wanting to check on Ellie a final time before he headed home, but he was shocked to find that she had already drifted out of sight.

Out of sight, and out of mind.


	2. Try a Little Tenderness

A/N: I'm so happy people seem to be liking this story. Your kind words are always appreciated. I know we'll all have our fingers crossed for Roman and Seth at HIAC later tonight!

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Roman's subconscious recorded every word spoken, etching it into his brain like a typewriter would onto paper. He was a partially disabled man, deaf to his surroundings and, when his focus strayed, he opened himself up to making mistakes. In the wrestling world, mistakes could be dangerous, if not fatal. Stephanie McMahon shuffled the papers in her lap from where she sat across from Roman on the couch, eyes boring into Roman's as he stared straight through her, into another realm entirely. In a world where only skin pale as a snowflake and eyes green as forest trees existed.

He leaned forward in the steel folding chair, elbows perched on either of his knees, as he transfixed his unwavering stare on a point straight ahead, unable to do so much as form a coherent thought. His distractions had landed him in hot water, having missed a significant spot in his match as he teamed with Seth to take on the Rhodes family. His assigned task had been one of simplicity; charge Goldust and slam him back-first into the barricade, crushing him upon impact. Instead, he had rushed the other man with enough forced to collapse the entire padded barrier, and Goldust had returned backstage, complaining of a sudden onset of severe back pain, presumed to be a result of Roman's carelessness.

Stephanie glanced up at her husband, biting her lip as she nodded her head toward Roman, as if requesting Paul's guidance in getting through to him. He pushed himself off the wall and stepped around to the front of her desk, sitting lightly on the edge of the wooden surface. Stephanie left her chair and came around to join him. Paul began, "You've got to give us _something_, Roman. We're trying to work with you and be understanding, but we need some type of explanation. You can't go out there and do what you did and then give us a blank face back here when we ask you about it."

"That's exactly right, and we're not trying to come down hard on you," Stephanie added, exchanging a few uncertain glances with Paul. She feared he came off excessively harsh to those he managed, more likely due to his intimidation factor than the actual words he spoke, so she liked to stand in and be the antithesis to his perceived venom. "We're simply trying to understand why this happened so we can prevent these sorts of accidents in the future. What went wrong out there?"

Roman blinked hard a few times. His head was still fuzzy, but he willed away the memory of Ellie, arms outstretched as she deemed the railroad tracks her personal playground, issuing a silent challenge for the train to run her down. He sucked at his teeth and sighed, reaching up to massage his left temple. "I messed up. I apologize."

Stephanie hesitated, pressing her lips together as she used both hands to massage the sides of her neck. Her shoulders were raised in a high and unnatural pose, a visual representation of the stress she was feeling. "We get that it was an accident, but...are you okay? And I mean that in the bigger sense. If something's going on that's bothering you, you can talk to us. We're your bosses, but we also have a personal interest in your well-being. We don't want to see you suffering, if that's what's going on."

"It's not," Roman shook his head. "I can't give you an excuse, because there isn't one for what I did tonight. I took my head out of the game, and this is the wrong job to check out of, because it puts everyone's livelihood on the line. I'm just really sorry. I don't know what else to say."

"Come on, boss, there's got to be something," Paul remarked. "What is it, girlfriend troubles? Not getting along with your friends?" he quizzed. Roman responded with an incredulous stare, and Paul chuckled softly, Stephanie's lips forming a smile as well. "I know what you're probably thinking, but I can relate to you more than you might guess. I'm not as young as you, but I was your age once, and I know how it is on the road. You fight with your chick and your friends, the daily stresses get to you, your entire body hurts and practically begs for painkillers so you can have some sort of relief. I get it, even if you don't think I do."

"I know you do," Roman acknowledged.

"Then let us help," Paul said. "That's all we ask. We're not talking to you as Mr. and Mrs. Levesque, or the EVP's of our departments. We're talking to you as Paul and Stephanie, from the heart."

Roman ran a hand through his hair to remove the dampened strands from his face, and a smile replaced the previous scowl he wore. "I don't know why you guys are always so nice to me."

"You're a good kid," Paul shrugged. "Now start talking. Who is she?"

After a long, almost dramatic, pause, Roman answered. "Her name is Ellie."

"But...how did you know?" Stephanie asked, mouth dropping as she gaped at Paul. He laughed, bringing his hand to her face and sweeping his thumb over her cheek.

"When it comes to us guys, it's always a girl, babe. The root of our problems is _always_ a girl," he laughed, shaking his head and shifting his focus back to Roman. "So, tell me about Ellie. What has she done that's got you so completely off your rocker?"

"She's just — "

Roman was interrupted by the office door swinging open as Shawn Michaels strutted in: baseball cap, camouflage shirt, puffer vest and all. His eyes swept over Roman briefly, but he pressed forward, not a care in the world as he reached his hands up and crossed his wrists over one another, giving Paul a classic, DX-style high five. "What's up, boss man?" he asked, reaching for Stephanie's hand and kissing the top of it. He tipped his hat to her in a kind salute, "Good to see you as well, boss lady."

"You too, Shawn," she grinned.

When Shawn struck up a casual conversation with Paul, as if Roman didn't even exist, he rose from his seat and started for the door. He almost expected Paul to call after him, demanding he return to his seat and provide them the answers they were searching for, but he was content to laugh it up with his old friend, just like the good old days. With one hand poised on the door knob, Roman glanced back to find Stephanie watching him sympathetically, as if she wanted to call him back and invite him to share all the thoughts dancing around in his mind. She nudged Paul with her elbow and tipped her head in the direction of Roman, who was just slipping out the door by the time Paul looked up.

"Hey, where'd the kid go?" he asked.

"I think we made him feel bad," Stephanie guessed. "He felt like you were ignoring him when you started talking to Shawn."

"I shouldn't be interrupting your job. I'm sorry," Shawn apologized. "Go ahead and catch up to him if you need to. I was so focused on telling you about my weekend that I didn't even think to look and see if someone else was in here first. I mean, I saw him, but just kind of blocked him out."

"I'll go. You two stay here," Stephanie directed. After pressing a warm kiss to the apple of Paul's cheek, she jogged out of their office and scanned both directions of the hallway, finding Roman several feet away. She cupped her mouth, calling out, "Hold it right there, Roman!"

All activity in the hallway came to a startling stop, as if the entire backstage area had been a video come to life and Stephanie had pressed the pause button. In light of the power she held, Stephanie was used to people being in awe or, in this case, absolute terror, when she spoke, but the abruptness of several mingling bodies freezing in place was jarring, even to her. Typically, if she was going out of her way to call out to somebody instead of having someone else track the person down and bring them to her office, it was because they had done something seriously wrong. Of course, there were exceptions to every rule, and Roman was the absolute exception in the current case.

Roman stopped and whirled around at his own casual pace, seemingly put off by all the sets of eyes glued to his back and front, but he pushed the unwanted attention aside and strode back down the hallway to catch up with Stephanie. She had leaned against the wall with her arms crossed casually, and she offered a kind smile when Roman was back in front of her. He asked, "Was I not supposed to leave? I wasn't trying to be disrespectful to any of you."

"You're not in trouble," she said, taking notice when his eyes darted self-consciously to the people nearby, most of whom continued to see fit to stare, as if they were some sort of advertised attraction at the town circus. Stephanie surprised him by clapping her hands briskly, ordering them all away. "There's nothing here for any of you to see. Back to work!"

The crowd dispersed at once, and Roman heaved a sigh of relief. He had been under enough scrutiny for one evening. "Thanks for that."

"It was nothing," Stephanie said, giving a slight wave of her hand. "I'm sorry Shawn came in and distracted Paul. It isn't that he doesn't care about your problems anymore, but when those two get together, well...you know how they are."

"Oh, yeah, I get it."

"I'm still all ears if you want to finish. Ellie was the girl's name?"

So she _had_ been listening.

"Yes."

"Tell me about her."

"The thing is," Roman started, running a hand over the top of his head, "I don't even really know her. That's what makes this whole thing so weird. I only just met her this one time, but there's something about her. She...I think she might be in some kind of trouble, but I don't know how to help. I don't think she would trust me enough to let me help, not even if I tried."

"How did you two meet?"

"I was taking a walk while I was off over the weekend, just around my neighborhood in Florida, and there she was, standing by the train tracks. And then she stood on them."

"_On_ them?" Stephanie asked, making a bewildered face.

"Yes. A train started coming," Roman continued, falling into a daze as he thought back to the events of that fateful day and allowed them to play out in his mind's eye, like a movie on a projection screen. "I got a little closer and realized she didn't seem to be moving out of the way for the train, so I just...I ran like hell. I ran until it hurt to breathe or move, and I grabbed her arm and pulled her off the tracks right before the train passed by. She claimed she wasn't suicidal and was going to dodge the thing at the last minute, but how can I know that for sure?"

"Did you report the incident?"

"No."

"Roman," Stephanie's eyes grew wide, and for a moment, it was easy for him to forget he was speaking to one of his bosses. Stephanie had a way of making those surrounding her feel as if they were one of her own. That wasn't to say she couldn't put on her boss face when necessary, but there was a softness behind her air of authority that made her easier to approach than most others, namely her father. "You can't see something like that and not report it. _I_ can't hear a story like this from you and not report it myself. The police in Florida need to know what's happened. This girl could be a real danger to herself or other people."

"I know, and that's why I can't stop thinking about her. She's this gorgeous, vibrant girl, but there's just this intense sadness in her eyes when she speaks, and it only pops out at certain times, but I felt like she was in trouble. I don't know exactly where she lives or anything, but she told me her name is Ellie, and she was named after her maternal grandmother. I know that doesn't really help, but it's all I have left of her."

"I can tell you're bothered by this, and after hearing what you've had to say, so am I," she replied. "We have to do something about this. Was there anything else she told you about herself? A last name, who her friends are, what her house looks like, where she works?"

"No," he shook his head, pressing his eyes shut, "no, she didn't tell me any of that, and I didn't think to ask at the time. I was still coming down from the rush of pulling someone out of the path of a moving train, and I didn't think to get anything other than her first name. If I tried to report the incident, I wouldn't even be able to tell the cops anything else, other than how she looked."

"That just might be enough," Stephanie estimated, pursing her lips and relaxing them when a thought came to her. "If you tell the cops her name, the details of her appearance, and where this whole thing happened, it might give them a starting point. They have detectives who work on this kind of thing and might be able to figure out where she is and get her the help she needs."

"Let's be real, though: are the cops even going to give a single damn about this? They have murders and all sorts of other grisly crimes to face every day. I really don't think they're going to be willing to sidetrack all that so they can go looking for a girl who may or may not be trying to kill herself."

Stephanie shifted her weight to the opposite foot and set her jaw squarely, giving her a more intimidating look. "You may not think it's worth the effort, but that girl is someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's friend. She has a life worth living, and that shouldn't be thrown away just because you don't want to take the time out of your day to head over to the precinct and tell them what you know. Can you live with yourself if you end up seeing a local news story on her and it turns out she was successful in ending her life some other way? You can't sweep this under the rug like it's nothing."

"I'm not trying to do that, not at all."

"Then you stand tall, hold your head up high, walk into your local police station, and tell them everything you know about this girl."

A fire burned in Stephanie's eyes, simmering against the blues of her irises, like flames on a log. When she felt passionate about something, it showed, and her undying intensity made Roman question why she seemed to feel more of a connection with Ellie than he did. When he dug a little deeper, he knew it was because he was pushing Ellie away, pushing her memory back so he wouldn't have to hurt if it turned out she was living through a horrifying situation. Roman didn't want to have to hear that she was hurting or see the pain on her face, so he pretended the occurrence was all out of his hands, that there was nothing else he could do. That couldn't have been further from the truth.

Here Stephanie stood before him, bravery outlined in her face and in the posture with which she stood, and he couldn't allow her to take the reins of a chariot that was his to lead. How he had stumbled upon Ellie at the exact time that she chose to walk to the tracks was a mystery he would never solve, perhaps even fate at its finest, but the fact remained that he had come across her for a reason, and it was his job to right all the wrongs. Ellie was a 21-year-old woman, still a lost little girl on the inside, and he wanted to help her work through her demons, even if he did his work from afar and without her ever knowing he was participating. The next time he looked into Stephanie's eyes, his blazed just as richly as hers, and she smirked, knowing she had won the fight and talked some serious sense into the man across from her.

"I'm doing it," he said, sure of himself for the first time since the starting point of their conversation. "I'm going to the police, telling them what I know, and then I'm coming back to work next week focused and prepared to do my job. I'm really sorry about earlier tonight."

"It's fine, but you should probably go find the Rhodes' in their locker room and apologize," she suggested. Roman nodded, knowing he was going to have to swallow his pride and do as told. "They won't hold your mistakes against you, because you're still a rookie, but respect goes a long way in this business, and it'll mean a lot and make you look better if you tell them you're sorry for the match tonight."

"Then that's exactly what I'll do. I want to make it in this business. I really want it," he said, punching his fist lightly into the palm of his opposing hand. Stephanie reached for his shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

"I know you want to be successful, and you will. You've got the skills and the knowledge, and now you need to bring it all together and showcase your wide scope of talents in the ring. It's going to take some practice, but you'll get there. You're a star in the making, Roman. A diamond in the rough, as they say."

"Thanks for this talk. You've really helped me out a lot, and can you tell Paul I said thanks, too?"

"I sure will," she smiled. "Are we all good here?"

"We are."

"All right, then, I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Good luck."

"Thanks, boss."

"You mean Stephanie," she corrected, reaching out to shake his hand. "You let me know how it ends up going with Ellie."

"I will," Roman promised.

He exchanged his final goodbyes and left Stephanie behind, rushing down the hallway and swiveling around corners until he was back in front of the locker room with the familiar gold plaque, announcing the room as the meeting point of The Shield. As rookies, there were plenty of guys out for their heads over the fact that they got their own locker room to share, while all the others had to use the public space. Some saw it as special treatment, while others questioned what the men of The Shield must have been doing to earn such prime amenities from upper management. One thing Roman had come to terms with was that people would always talk. They would perpetually have something negative to say, but the most important thing he could learn to do for the sanity of himself and his friends was to shut them out.

He pushed the locker room door open and found Seth on the couch, freshly showered and picking absently from the fruit platter on their long, wooden table as he watched the remainder of the show. The downpour of water from the shower could be heard from the next room, his first indication that Dean was in the midst of showering after their match. Seth managed to tear his eyes away from the television screen, raising both eyebrows at Roman as he approached, asking, "Dude, what the hell happened? That meeting with Paul and Steph couldn't have gone good. Not with the way they whisked you off right after we got back here. Were they pissed at you?"

"Not really, but they called me out for sending Goldust through the barricade. I was supposed to smash him into it but not make it completely collapse. They could tell my head was elsewhere," Roman admitted, shrugging as he took a seat beside Seth and picked some grapes off the platter, popping them into his mouth one at a time. "I have to go apologize to the Rhodes family, but, other than that, I'm in the clear."

"Then what took you so long?"

"I told Stephanie about Ellie."

"And?" Seth waved him on, having already been advised of the details embedded in his chilling weekend encounter.

"She said I need to report what I saw to my local police."

"So are you going to?"

Roman pressed his back into the couch and sighed heavily. "Yes, I am."


End file.
